1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system communications, and more particularly to a system and method for information handling system battery with integrated communication ports.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling system users tend to prefer systems with as much processing power as possible in as small of a footprint as possible for a given price point. In addition, end users tend to prefer systems that provide mobility, such as portable systems that typically have an integrated display and a battery power source. As a result, information handling system manufacturers have generally sought to design portable information handling systems having as much functionality as possible in as small of a portable chassis as possible. One difficulty that commonly arises in the design of such portable information handling systems is including a battery having a charge sufficient enough so that the information handling system can operate independent of an external power source for an adequate period of time. One solution to this difficulty is to use components that consume reduced amounts of power; however, components that offer greater functionality, such as CPUs with more rapid clock speeds, also tend to consume greater amounts of power. Another solution is to use a battery that carries a greater charge; however, batteries with greater charge capacity tend to have a larger size. Including a battery with a larger size in a portable information handling system chassis tends to reduce the footprint available for components and, thus, tends to reduce the functionality of the information handling system.
In an effort to increase the room available for a battery within an information handling system, the battery is sometimes built into a housing that couples to an internal port of the information handling system at one end and extends out the rear of the information past the rear wall of the chassis. For example, an information handling system user can insert a six cell battery into a rear battery port that aligns with the rear wall of the chassis or can insert a nine cell battery into a rear battery port to obtain extra battery life with the rear wall of the battery extending past the rear wall of the chassis to provide room for the extra battery cells. In addition to providing more room for additional battery cells, a rear battery design is more conducive to slimming the industrial design of the front edge of the information handling system. Unfortunately, perimeter space for portable information handling systems is typically in short supply. A variety of I/O ports are typically disposed along the perimeter of a portable information handling system chassis, and a variety of internal and peripheral devices also typically use perimeter space, such as optical drives, hard disk drives, fan exhaust, etc. . . . Generally, the front perimeter of a portable information handling system does not adapt well to support I/O ports for aesthetic and practical reasons, so using valuable perimeter space at the rear of a portable information handling system to accept a battery tends to limit the functionality supported by the information handling system.